Tuesday, November 5, 2013

It’s
been AGES since I wrote on here. And, I’ve actually started another blog,
so if you are actually reading this one, comment and I’ll let you know where
the new one is. But, I had thoughts for today, and I really wanted to
share them.

In the most recent Advocate (a local monthly “news” paper), there’s an article
about “The Fire and Rescue Bullet”. It talks about the things working
against volunteers: Competition for free time, aging population, increased
training requirements, employers not letting employees off to answer calls,
greater expectations from citizens, and of course, money. There are other
problems with answering calls as well. The biggest one for me? The
BS calls. I’m sorry, but when someone calls 911 morning after morning
after morning, for the same complaint, you know what? I’m going to stay
right here and eat my lucky charms, thank you very much. How about the
person who complained that their “Lungs were full of air” and wanted to go to
the ER? Unfortunately, you want to go to the ER? We cannot
refuse to take you. People also complain about how long it takes an
ambulance to get there. My answer? First, is your house easy to
locate? Let’s start with a house number, that is CLEARLY visible from the
road. I had a family member berate us for driving up and down past his
house. “But the number is there!” “Yes sir, and it’s black letters
on a flat black mailbox. We can’t see that in the middle of the
night.” Second, when you choose to have the house that has an AMAZING
view and no one around for miles . . . that also includes an
ambulance.

In this same article, it brings up statistics. Yes, my squad has missed a
LOT of calls. And the article talks about how there are other departments
that have no calls missed. But, there are lots of details missing, not
just hard and fast numbers. For instance. Was the call missed
because we were already on another call? WHO was the call for?
Several of our “missed” calls were for another agency that we were second due
on. And, before we could answer that call for that first due agency, they
got a truck on the road so we weren’t needed. Yes, the Fire Department
might have 100% of calls answered, but if they only have 15 calls for the month
. . . . . whoo hoo! We usually have 60-90 calls a month. I’d like
to see what happens to those other departments numbers when they start having
that kind of volume.

The
reality is, we need daytime help. We need paid staff to be at our
buildings, to answer the calls, while the volunteers are working. Even
now, we struggle in the evenings. I’m one of the “lucky”? ones, in that I
don’t have a spouse, kids, and responsibilities at home, and I’m available to
answer more than the average person. The top 2 call answering
associates? Retired. #3? The Captain.

There
are agencies where drama is an issue. Mine isn’t one of those.
While we’ve had our differences with the Fire Department, the reality is, those
people have been there for me when I need them. I might laugh and joke
about big dumb firefighters running into a burning building, but the reality
is, there isn’t anyone else I’d want, or trust, to have my back in an
emergency. When push comes to shove, we work to get the job done.
When the call goes off for a person unresponsive, or an injured child, you bet
your backside that we will drop anything and everything to get the call
answered. I’m not going to apologize for not doing the same thing for the
person with the stubbed toe.

I’d
love to see more people volunteer. Even if you don’t want to get into the
nitty gritty, blood and puke that can accompany a call, there is ALWAYS
something to do. There’s trash to be put out, ambulances to be washed,
buildings to be straightened. And, for the record? In 10 years, I
can count on both hands the number of times I’ve dealt with really really
gross/ewwww calls. It’s not what the television series makes it out to
be. Daddy used to tell me, when you get down on yourself, do something
for someone else. Volunteering with the squad has been the most rewarding
opportunity of my life. I wish more people would sign up for those same
rewards.